Travel companies have been snapping up primo campsites in provincial parks and reselling them to European tourists while unhappy B.C. campers face a “sold-out” summer at their favourite campgrounds.

Business has been booming at Canadian Camping Adventures, a Salmon Arm company that specializes in reserving campsites and reselling them in tour packages to campers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.S.

“It’s been crazy,” said company official Carla de Ronde.

Canadian Camping Adventures has teamed up with European tour operators and two large motorhome rental companies — Fraserway RV and Canadream — to offer the camping packages to foreign visitors.

Ted Rhodes / Postmedia

“If you book a motorhome you can pick a campground tour at the same time and they order it through us,” de Ronde explained.

“We have two people working for us and what we can book, we book,” de Ronde said, adding the company uses a computerized spreadsheet system to match foreign customers with campsites.

The B.C. government’s website only allows reservations three months in advance, so the company keeps careful track of when campsites are “released” online and then “they start booking at a high pace,” de Ronde said.

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“We usually start early in the morning,” she said. “It’s like buying a ticket for a concert. You need to be on your game because people know when the campgrounds are released.”

Campsites cost between $18 and $35 a night on the government website, but Canadian Camping Adventures resells them for roughly $70 a night to reflect the work that goes into reserving the sites, de Ronde said.

“It’s a labour-intensive product,” she said.

City of Chilliwack

News that travel companies are systematically booking up campsites in provincial parks did not shock Sam Waddington, a Chilliwack city councillor who’s been critical of the government’s Discover Camping website.

“I’m not surprised,” said Waddington, who operates an outdoor adventure company. “Many people come away bitterly disappointed with the Discover Camping website because the provincial parks sell out so quickly. To hear companies are reselling campsites to foreign tourists is, unfortunately, not shocking.”

Waddington thinks the government should designate a majority of provincial campsites for B.C. residents only.

“British Columbians own these parks and taxpayers subsidize their operations,” Waddington said. “As the major stakeholder paying for these assets, we should be able to get out, go camping and enjoy our parks.”

Waddington thinks foreign tourists who book provincial campsites should pay a premium price to the government, which could then redirect the money to park maintenance. “Why should they pay $70 a night to a private-sector company? Pay that money to the government instead, so they can improve the parks.”

“Tourists pay sales taxes and gas taxes, and they spend a lot of money here,” said Loosdrecht. “A European visitor on an RVing holiday can spend up to $10,000 for a two- or three-week vacation. That’s a lot of money going into our economy.”

The B.C. government is aware of the middleman campsite trade and isn’t worried about it.

“We do not limit commercial operators from making bookings since they play an important role in providing tourism services,” said Environment Ministry spokesman Dave Karn, who stressed the motorhome firms and their partners get no special access to campsites.

But NDP environment critic George Heyman said “corporate scalping” has arrived in provincial parks.

British Columbians deserve an affordable family camping vacation, but they’re being blocked by tour operators

“The government is basically privatizing access to our parks,” Heyman said. “British Columbians deserve an affordable family camping vacation, but they’re being blocked by tour operators and RV companies.”

Heyman said the government should ban private companies from booking and reselling campsites.

Loosdrecht said the government should increase the supply of campsites in provincial parks instead.

“Demand is huge,” said Loosdrecht, noting Fraserway RV also sells motorhomes to British Columbians. “We want everybody to be happy — our local customers and our tourists.”

That may not be possible with demand increasing everywhere. Most reservable campsites in provincial parks have long since been booked, and Canadian Camping Adventures has sold out of all its tourist packages for the summer.

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has released its last budget before the fall federal election

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